Valvano's World Turned Upside Down

SKIP MILLER

March 08, 1990|By SKIP MILLER Columnist

... And so with about five seconds left, the ball goes to Kenny Matthews. Kenny hadn't made a shot all day. He was oh-for-14. What does he do? He puts up a shot. Shoots an airball. Virginia gets the rebound and BOOM, we lose by one. After the game I grabbed Kenny and said, `You hadn't hit a thing all day. Why did you take that last shot?" He said, "Coach, I was due."

Just two college basketball seasons ago, that was typical Jim Valvano. A funny, rapid-fire monologue delivered in a rasp-like voice; dark, Italian eyes dancing.

He was successful, inspiring, motivating, and omnipresent. Here's Jim Valvano the radio talk show host. Here's Jim Valvano the after-dinner speaker. Here's Jim Valvano at courtside, twisting and writhing and shouting. Here's Jim Valvano jumping and screaming after his Wolfpack defeated Houston to win the 1983 NCAA championship.

At N.C. State, the school that brought big-time basketball to North Carolina, people adored him. He always had a smile and a quip. He always took the time to listen. He was their role model of achievement and compassion.

I'm a more private person now. I don't think I've lost my sense of humor at all. I use it more sparingly. I'm just more private and I'm sure I'll remain so. I'm just more careful about the way I share my humor.

That is the Jim Valvano people have been meeting since last fall. The same rasp-like voice, though the twinkle has faded from those dark, Italian eyes. He's gone from role model to embattled coach of a basketball program that has drawn a two-year probation from the NCAA and is now being investigated for point-shaving allegations.

No smiles. No quips. Just the target of a surge of protest that demanded his resignation or dismissal. The man who has reportedly struck a deal to leave after one more season as Wolfpack coach.

Throughout investigations by a campus committee, the NCAA, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, Valvano has maintained he knew nothing of the trespasses of his players - State drew the NCAA probation because players had sold game tickets and basketball shoes.

He said he would accept accountability for problems in the program but he could not be expected to accept culpability. He has insisted he has done nothing wrong or illegal. He has also insisted he wants to remain basketball coach at North Carolina State.

But he has found no way to put an end to the relentless bashing he has taken from editorials in the state's daily newspapers. Editorials that have demanded his removal from the Wolfpack basketball program.

"That's where the biggest movement to get rid of him comes from," said Howard Ward, sports editor of the Fayetteville Observer. "The fans are kind of split. Some are saying `let's keep Jim.' Other people are concerned about what all this has done to the image of the school."

Gradually, those other people are swinging into the camp that wants Valvano's ouster. Though they don't believe Valvano has done anything wrong, they see no way for a healing process to begin as long as he remains.

Meanwhile, those who support Valvano are frustrated and angry. They point to the fact that he has not been personally connected to any of the violations or allegations. They claim his treatment smacks of being guilty until proven innocent and that lately even being proved innocent hasn't been enough.

They do not see a difference between supporting Wolfpack basketball and supporting Jim Valvano.

Which raises this question: Why has a man of Valvano's expertise and charisma put himself and his family through this?

The speculated reason centers on his five-year contract. The contract contains a clause which obligates the university to pay Valvano in excess of $500,000 if he is dismissed for anything other than a felony conviction or an NCAA rules violation.

"Jim likes money," a source said. "The buyout clause is the only reason he's still around. That's why he keeps repeating he wants to stay - he's not going to give the university any reason to try to get off the hook of that clause."

With reports being circulated that a deal has been struck, everybody is left wondering who won.

Nobody. North Carolina State is left to clean up a soiled basketball program. Jim Valvano is left to repair his tattered image and market value.

But nobody is left with the understanding of why it happened this way.